Federal authorities have said a small plane aborted its landing at a Georgia airport before it hit a utility pole and crashed, killing five people on board and leaving two injured.

National Transportation Safety Board member Robert Sumwalt said the plane hit a 60ft (18m) utility pole before crashing. The plane then burst into flames.

Mr Sumwalt said it was not immediately known why the plane aborted its landing. He said one of the plane's wings was cut off when it hit the pole, causing the plane to leak fuel that then ignited.

He said the plane broke into pieces and is almost completely burned out.

"The wreckage was severely fragmented, and it is almost completely destroyed by fire," he said. "You walk up and you say to yourself, 'Where is the airplane?'"

Thomson-McDuffie County Sheriff Logan Marshall said two survivors were taken to hospitals. A man was in critical condition at Georgia Regents Medical Centre in Augusta, hospital spokeswoman Christen Carter said.

The condition of the other survivor, and where that person was taken, is not known.

The plane had taken off from Nashville, Tennessee, and crashed while it was landing at Thomson-McDuffie Regional Airport, about 30 miles west of Augusta, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said.

The identities of the five who died in the crash have not been released.

But Dr Stephen Davis, a plastic surgeon who works for the Vein Guys clinic in Nashville said five of those on board were affiliated with the clinic.

Dr Davis said those on board were Dr Steven Roth, two ultrasound technicians, a nurse anaesthetist and a secretary.

Dr Davis said his brother Dr Keith Davis and Dr Roth co-founded the clinic in Augusta. He described Dr Roth as "a great guy, a great doctor, devoted to patients and his family".

Assistant County Fire Chief Stephen Sewell told the Augusta Chronicle that the two survivors were a pilot and a passenger. He provided no additional information about those aboard.

Witnesses reported power outages that prompted a utility to send workers to the site, the newspaper reported.

Patricia Reese and her husband live in a farmhouse near the site. She said they were watching TV on Wednesday night when they were startled by noise and a power outage.

She said: "The lights blinked and went off, and all of a sudden we heard this noise. It sounded like thunder that just kept going on and on."

Mrs Reece's husband grabbed a flashlight and they headed into the pitch-dark field behind their home. They soon saw flashing lights from emergency vehicles and thick smoke pouring from the woods, she said.